OLD INBOXESKeep receiving
MailBridge watches or receives mail sent to addresses the customer is leaving behind.
PRODUCT ROADMAP · AUGUST 2026
From an email bridge
to identity continuity.
MailBridge gives people a safe transition between an old email address and a new one. The roadmap protects that simple promise first, then builds privacy, accessibility and partner tools around it.
Working nowBeing completedPlannedLong-term
OLD ADDRESS ACTIVITY
SSpotifyStill old
AAir New ZealandStill old
PPower companyUpdated ✓
M
MAILBRIDGENEW DESTINATIONalex.new@email.nzVerified
✉✉✉✉ Delivered safely
BOILED DOWN TO THE BASICS
The product has one job
Let somebody change their email address without suddenly losing access to the people, bills, services and memories still connected to the old one.
NEW DESTINATIONOne safe home
Copies arrive at a verified new address while the original inbox stays available during the transition.
SENDER MAPFinish the move
The customer updates important organisations at their own pace until the old address can be retired.
REAL-WORLD FIT
Why this is more than “just forwarding”
Forwarding is the transport. The value is reducing the fear, confusion and risk of changing a digital identity that may have been used for decades.
Leaving an ISP address
A customer moves away from an old provider address but years of utilities, memberships and personal contacts still use it.
A less stressful move
An older or less-technical customer gets a clear visual list of who still writes to the old address instead of remembering every account.
Recovering privacy
Someone replaces an overexposed or spam-heavy address while keeping a safe transition window for legitimate mail.
Local life changes
A household, sole trader or small business changes provider, name or domain and needs continuity while updating New Zealand services.
CONTINUITYImportant mail keeps arriving
+VISIBILITYOld-address senders become a checklist
+CONTROLThe customer decides when the move is done
= useful outcomeHONEST PRODUCT POSITION
What exists—and what does not yet
The live beta proves the core architecture and a controlled delivery. It is not yet an unattended, production-scale forwarding service.
FOUNDATIONStrong
AUTOMATIONIn progress
LAUNCH SAFETYEarly
Illustrative readiness view—not a promise or launch date.THE DELIVERY PATH
Build reliability before reach
No dates are attached until technical dependencies and pilot evidence support them. The order matters more than optimistic deadlines.
01 · FOUNDATION02 · RELIABLE MOVEMENT03 · SAFE BETA → PUBLIC SERVICE04 · THE BIGGER PRODUCT05 · EVERYWHERE + PARTNERS
01
FOUNDATION
Working nowA trustworthy bridge
The secure account, connection and visibility layer that every later feature depends on.
Exit conditionA tester can create an account, verify ownership, connect old inboxes and see a truthful source-only sender map.
Account and securityEmail verification, password recovery and changes, session controls, data export and deletion.Live
Verified destinationMail cannot be routed until the new delivery address has been ownership-verified.Live
Multiple old inboxesGmail and Microsoft connect through official OAuth; NZ and other providers can use a private universal route.Live
Sender MapOnly messages arriving through an old source count, showing which organisations still need the new address.Live
Operator command centreReal feedback and reconciliation exist; several health totals and global controls remain clearly identified demo surfaces.Partial
02
RELIABLE MOVEMENT
Being completedFrom detection to dependable delivery
Turn the controlled technical proof into an automatic service that can be trusted every day.
Exit conditionA new message at an old address is detected, relayed once, confirmed delivered and recoverable if anything fails.
Scheduled reconciliationA hosted scheduler checks eligible old Gmail and Microsoft inboxes every 15 minutes while the owner’s computer is off.Live
Gmail real-time notificationsSecure Pub/Sub webhook, Gmail history cursors, deduplication and automatic watch renewal are built; Google Cloud activation is the current task.Setup now
Microsoft real-time notificationsAdd Microsoft Graph change subscriptions, encrypted lifecycle data and scheduled renewal with polling retained as backup.Next
Automatic forwarding workerA bounded queue worker now forwards continuity and alias mail with idempotency, retries and administrator pause controls. Dead-letter operations and alerting remain next.Beta built
Delivery truthResend submission and signed delivery webhooks work. Scale testing must cover delay, bounce, complaint, attachment and duplicate scenarios.Proven once
Retention cleanupRoutine maintenance removes temporary message payloads and old completed alias activity while retaining the minimum delivery record.Beta built
03
SAFE BETA → PUBLIC SERVICE
PlannedOperational readiness
A polished interface is not a launch. MailBridge must withstand failures, abuse, support needs and real delivery consequences.
Exit conditionA limited NZ public pilot has monitoring, support, clear limits, safe rollback and evidence that forwarding is dependable.
End-to-end monitoringReal provider health, queue depth, delivery time, failure rate, webhook delay and watch expiry alerts replace sample command-centre data.Required
Abuse and registration protectionRisk-based CAPTCHA, distributed throttling, blocked-recipient handling and protections against using MailBridge as a relay.Required
Deliverability operationsReputation monitoring, bounce and complaint suppression, domain isolation and provider-volume limits.Required
Privacy and security reviewIndependent assessment, incident response, audit retention, key rotation, vendor review and NZ-focused plain-language privacy materials.Required
Support and assisted setupGuided provider instructions, recovery playbooks, accessible help and a safe way to assist less-technical customers.Required
Pilot economicsMeasure support cost, provider cost and willingness to pay before selecting a migration pass, subscription or assisted-service model.Validate
04
THE BIGGER PRODUCT
Being completedPrivacy identities and provider reach
Expand from ‘keep my old mail’ into a privacy and identity-control product without pretending to be another sender.
Exit conditionCustomers can create legitimate MailBridge aliases, control exposure of their real address and retire an alias without losing continuity.
Receive-only aliasesA real message sent to a MailBridge-owned alias has been received, queued and delivered to its verified destination. This is an alias service—not spoofing.Working beta
Short generated aliasesNew aliases use a readable label of up to eight characters plus a four-character uniqueness code. Existing longer aliases remain valid.Live
mailbridge.nz transitionThe domain registration has been approved. DNS and Resend receiving must now be verified before new @mailbridge.nz aliases are issued; existing aliases will keep working.Domain secured
Readable vanity aliasesLet customers request handles such as power@mailbridge.nz with global uniqueness, reserved-name rules, impersonation protection, rate limits and a safe suffix fallback.Next
Alias controlsLabel, copy, pause, resume or delete an alias and see its received and delivered totals. Rotation, sender blocking and leak-source insight remain next.First slice built
NZ-first provider guidesPrioritise Spark/Xtra, One NZ-linked journeys, custom NZ domains and common local organisations before expanding global coverage.Active direction
Broad universal receivingAny provider capable of forwarding can connect through a verified private route without giving MailBridge its mailbox password.Foundation built
Legitimate reply routingLet customers reply through their own authorised alias while preserving SPF, DKIM and DMARC alignment, safe reply routing and strong abuse controls. Never forge an unrelated From address.Later phase
Operator mailboxA service such as Titan Email may host support@mailbridge.nz for the MailBridge team, but it is not the customer alias or forwarding engine.Optional later
05
EVERYWHERE + PARTNERS
Long-termA portable email identity layer
Take the proven web service to every device, then let trusted organisations update a customer’s address with explicit consent.
Exit conditionOne secure MailBridge account coordinates continuity and consent across devices and participating organisations.
Android and iPhonePackage the responsive web experience with secure device storage, deep links and push notifications after the web workflows stabilise.Later
Windows and macOSDesktop shells consume the same HTTPS API and command model; no provider secrets belong in the client.Later
Partner account updatesWith participating services, request an email-address change through official APIs using per-service consent and a complete audit trail.Long term
Customer consent ledgerShow exactly which organisation received which requested change, when, with the ability to revoke unfinished permissions.Required first
Verified partner programmeSecurity, contract, support and data-minimisation requirements before any organisation can integrate.Long term
PRIVATE DESTINATIONme@realmail.nz
◆REAL ADDRESS
STAYS HIDDEN
STAYS HIDDEN
shopping@mb.nztravel@mb.nzsignup@mb.nzfamily@mb.nz
RECEIVE-ONLY BETA FOUNDATION BUILT
Privacy aliases—not spoofing
A customer can create a labelled MailBridge-owned alias for a shop, household bill or separate customer account instead of reusing their real destination. Incoming mail is queued to the verified inbox; secure outbound alias replies remain later work.
- ✓Legitimate addressesMailBridge creates and controls the alias domain; it never pretends to own somebody else’s address.
- ✓Household separationTwo distinct aliases can satisfy unique-address account rules while both deliver to one verified family inbox.
- ✓Kill switchesPause or delete one exposed alias without changing the real inbox.
- !Outbound replies need careful designReplying must use an authorised alias with correct authentication—not forged sender information.
NEW IDEAS · RANKED BY PRACTICAL VALUE
What MailBridge may be missing
These were not core commitments in the earlier roadmap. They are ranked from most vital to least practical using four questions: Does it protect mail? Does it help the target customer? Does it reinforce migration? Can it be delivered safely?
Most vitalMost speculative
PRIORITY01Vital
!
Safety and recovery centre
A forwarding product must make failures visible before users miss important mail.
- Provider disconnected or permission expired
- Delivery delay, bounce and queue alerts
- One-click pause, retry and reconnect guidance
- Urgent-message safety advice and incident history
PRIORITY02Vital
Aa
Accessibility and assisted setup
The strongest real-world audience includes people who find email settings confusing.
- Large-text and simplified modes
- Provider-specific illustrated walkthroughs
- Read-aloud friendly language
- Consent-bound helper access without sharing passwords
PRIORITY03High
%
Migration completion score
Forwarding solves continuity; completion guidance helps customers eventually stop needing the bridge.
- Known senders grouped by importance
- Updated, ignored and still-old status
- Monthly progress milestones
- A safe old-mailbox retirement checklist
PRIORITY04High
2
Trusted helper permissions
A family member or support person may help, but must not gain unrestricted mailbox access.
- Invite a helper to setup-only tasks
- Hide message subjects and personal content
- Time-limited permissions
- Complete helper activity log
PRIORITY05High
↺
Continuity backup and restore
If MailBridge configuration is lost, customers need a quick, encrypted path back to a known-good setup.
- Export providers, routes and statuses
- Encrypted recovery package
- Restore without exporting provider tokens
- Configuration version history
PRIORITY06Useful
−
Subscription clean-up
Migration is the ideal moment to remove newsletters and recurring mail the customer no longer wants.
- Identify high-volume subscriptions
- Keep, update, unsubscribe or block
- Never unsubscribe automatically
- Show reduced old-address traffic over time
PRIORITY07Useful
⌂
Household migration plan
Families often change providers together and need shared progress without merging private inboxes.
- Separate private member accounts
- Shared provider setup checklist
- Household completion overview
- Optional family billing
PRIORITY08Specialist
◇
Business and estate transition
Closing a small business or managing a deceased person’s digital affairs creates a genuine continuity problem, but requires careful authority checks.
- Authorised transition roles
- Documented legal-authority checks
- Time-limited continuity plans
- Strict audit and data-retention controls
PRIORITY09Convenient
◎
Cross-device priority alerts
Useful after native apps exist, but email still works without another notification channel.
- Reconnect and delivery-failure alerts
- No message-content notifications by default
- Quiet hours and severity controls
- Consistent state across devices
PRIORITY10Speculative
✦
AI migration assistant
It could explain sender patterns and suggest priorities, but it is less important than reliable delivery, accessibility and privacy.
- Summarise sender categories, not private mail
- Suggest—not execute—update priorities
- Explain uncertain classifications
- Opt-in only with clear data boundaries
THE DECISION FILTER
Every future feature must earn its place
1Does it protect continuity?→2Does it reduce customer effort?→3Can it preserve privacy?→4Can it be operated safely?
If the answer is no, the feature waits—even if it looks impressive. Reliable delivery, clear migration progress and customer control remain the product’s centre of gravity.